Canvasback

Canvasback, male

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Canvasback, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large diving duck, the Canvasback breeds in prarie potholes and winters on ocean bays. Its sloping profile distinguishes it from other ducks.

Description

• Large, sleek duck.
• Long sloping profile.
• Male with rusty red head, white body, and black chest and rear end.

• Size: 48-56 cm (19-22 in)
• Wingspan: 79-89 cm (31-35 in)
• Weight: 862-1588 g (30.43-56.06 ounces)

Sex Differences

Breeding male boldly patterned with red head and white body; female drabber and more subtly marked in brown and gray.

Sound

Males make cooing notes in courtship. Female gives soft "krrr-krrr."

Conservation Status

Populations have fluctuated widely. Low levels in 1980s put the Canvasback on lists of special concern, but numbers increased greatly in the 1990s.

Other Names

Morillon à dos blanc (French)
Pato coacoxtle (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The species name of the Canvasback, Aythya valisineria, comes from Vallisneria americana, or wild celery, whose winter buds and rhizomes are its preferred food during the nonbreeding period.

Sources used to construct this page:

Mowbray, T. B. 2002. Canvasback (Aythya valisineria). In The Birds of North America, No. 659 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.